Weekly Wishlist: Dreamy Home Goods

1. Confetti Flora Hall Runner: Anthropologie

2. LINDMON Wooden Venetian Blinds: IKEA

3. Graham and Brown Paintable Wallpaper: Urban Outfitters

4. Silent Fox Rug: Anthropologie

5. Striped Semi-Sheer Curtains: Country Curtains

6. Tufted Kaleidoscope Bathmat: Anthropologie

7. Little Boxes Wall Organizer: Urban Outfitters

Hey guys! Since I've got updating my house on my mind, I decided to share a wishlist today for some real pretty home goods. Some of these are super reasonable and will likely make their way into my home shortly, whereas some of them are a litttttttle bit out of my price range and may just stay in the house of my dreams.

First, up, guys, I have a hall. It's kinda cool. I think it would be super fun to jazz up that hallway with this gorgeous hall runner from Anthropologie. My hall is decorated with embroidery so I think this pretty rug would look perfect in there! And hey, ya know, why not pair a fancy rug with embroidery pieces you spent less than $5 on at the thrift store. It's more fun that way, I think!

In other rug news, while I certainly don't need a rug for my living room, this fox rug from Anthropologie is too dreamy for words and I would positively die every time I saw it if it were in my house. Seriously. So. Damn. Pretty.

I'm also really antsy to switch out the curtains in my living room. The place came with these green monstrosities (they're actually not that bad) that collect cat hair like nobody's business and really darken up the room. I'd love to make the switch to a combination of pretty wood blinds, like these affordable ones from IKEA, and some pretty sheers. I actually already have a couple of sets of these sheers in my bedroom since my neighbor was nice enough to give them to me, and I'd love to put them up in the living room, too. They give things a nice airy feel and really brighten up and tie together the room.

Storage in my place, while certainly not nonexistent, is less available than I'd like. I love the idea of this wall organizer from Urban Outfitters and think it would be a dreamy way to store craft supplies like spools of thread and paint. I've got some decent wall space so it might be a good way to go!

Last, but not least, I'd love to get a pretty new bathmat and probably some matching towels. Some certain cats of mine have totally destroyed the ones I have and I'd love to replace them with something pretty. Admittedly, while this is the easiest and most practical thing I'd like to replace, I'll probably wait another year or so and see if the cats get a little less kitten-like by the time they reach 3 years old. 

Anyway, that's what I'm wishing for this week! Is there anything you're after to liven up your living space?

Til next time!

-Becca

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Weekly Wardrobe- Out of the Blue

 Glasses: BonLook

Scarf: Nordstrom

Blazer: Vintage/Similar

Sweater: H&M

T-shirt: J. Crew

Jeans: Urban Outfitters

Shoes: J. Crew/Similar

Holy moly, you guys. I am SO glad Katie helped me take a couple of rounds of outfit photos last weekend. This weekend it POURED! Like, the cats got so scared they hid under the bed, poured. If I had to try to go take outfit photos over the weekend they pretty much would have been of a puddle that looked kind of like me, wearing soggy clothes.

In other news, sorry I was so light on posts last week! I had some stuff come up that kept me very busy and unable to keep up with my posting schedule. A month ago I would have been majorly stressing my lack of posts last week, but I'm really making an effort to let things go and it has been helping a lot with my anxiety, which is great! Going forward, three to four posts a week will likely be the norm.

Other than hanging out with a friend for a while on Saturday night, it was a pretty low-key weekend! Just lots of cleaning, organizing, etc. I was able to finally hang some art in my living room and got my new set of drawers put together, so that was pretty nice! I also finally hung up all of my clothes, which has been long overdue (I swear, I'm a real adult. Really. Promise.). So, it was productive if nothing else!

Outfit-wise, this has been my go-to lately for running errands, etc. I'm totally in love with this polka dot top I got on sale from J. Crew a few weeks ago, and am also pretty obsessed with this royal blue scarf and matching royal blue flats. Hey, sometimes a gal likes to match! I've been having fun trying out some new outfit pairings recently, so I should have some fun outfits to share with you guys for the next few weeks!

Well I hope you guys all had a great weekend! Did you do anything particularly fun?

Til next time!

-Becca

P.S. Thank you SO MUCH for all of your kind and encouraging words about my goals for the new year! I appreciate your support more than I can possibly say and have literally teared up over many of your sweet comments. Ya'll are the best ever.

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Pot Roast!

Man, is it comfort food season, or what? I tell ya, all I want to do lately is cozy up with big bowls of slow-cooked deliciousness. One of my favorite comfort foods is Pot Roast; it's tender, flavorful and incredibly easy to make. This is great meal to make when you're having a lazy day at home, too, because it takes minimal effort, but tastes amazing. Sunday afternoon cooking at its best!

Let's get started!

Pot Roast- Makes about 8 servings (more or less depending on how big your appetite is!)

Ingredients:
- Salt
- Pepper
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- alb cut of beef pot roast
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
- 2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
- 1 tsp dried oregano leaves
- 2 tsp chopped garlic
- 2 tsp mustard, preferably dijon
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, chopped
- 2 medium carrots cut into 1" pieces
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 1 bunch laminate kale, chopped.

1. Begin by liberally seasoning the pot roast with salt and pepper.

2. Then, in a large, heavy pot with a lid, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the roast and brown on all sides.

3. While the meat is browning, combine the vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, herbs, garlic, and mustard in a small bowl and mix together.

4. Once the meat has browned on all sides, pour the mixture over the meat, cover the pot tightly with a lid, and let simmer over low heat for 90 minutes while you go put up your feet and watch TV or something!

5. After 90 minutes, add the sweet potatoes, carrots, onions, and kale, being sure to arrange them evenly around the meat. Then return the lid to the pot and let simmer for 1 more hour. Go relax some more while that's cooking!

6. After that last hour of cooking/relaxing, pull the pot off the heat and check out that deliciousness! The meat should be stupid tender, and delicious as can be.

7. Once it's cooled a bit, pull the meat apart into smaller chunks and serve some of the meat and veggies over brown rice, mashed potatoes, or noodles!

And so, with minimal effort you've got a delicious home cooked meal perfect for a lazy Sunday afternoon!

I hope you enjoy it!

XOXO

-Becca

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Weekly Wardrobe: A Go-To Winter Look!

 Glasses: Bon Look
Necklace: Periwinkle Nuthatch

Sweater: H&M/Similar

Belt: Anthropologie/Similar

Skirt: Vintage

Tights: Nordstrom

Shoes: J. Crew/Similar

Hey guys! How was your weekend? I hope it was just lovely!

I gotta say, after a week off, it's been hard getting back into the swing of things! During my time off, just about all I accomplished, other than some cleaning, was shotgunning all the episodes of Scandal I could get my hands on. Sidenote: have you guys watched Scandal yet? SO good!

Well, now that I really am emerging from my cocoon of much needed laziness, I'm finding that the one thing my heart desires is to really get my house decorated and organized. In the last week I've purchased some of the cutest wallpaper ever as well as a bakers rack for my kitchen, and I purchased a set of drawers to replace some useless shelving I currently have so I can organize my craft supplies. I'm also keeping my eye out for cute art for my walls and have started dreaming up some DIY wall art projects!

I gotta say, it feels really good to be focusing some energy on updating my place to be a happier, prettier, better organized space. I'm really excited to see how it comes together in the months to come!

In other news, I have to admit, I got into a major creative slump over the weekend. I racked my brain trying to come up with a good craft project, but between the time I had and the supplies I had on hand, it just wasn't going to happen. So, in the spirit of one of my goals for the new year, I just let it go. Unfortunately, that means I'm a little light on posts this week, but worse things have happened!

On the brighter side, I feel like I'm starting to notice some mild improvement with my anxiety, and have been making some better eating choices recently! Also, the weather this weekend was absolutely gorgeous, so that always helps! I got to spend some of the day out and about with Katie on Sunday and I ended up wearing one of my go-to winter outfits, which features this amazing vintage skirt. Gingham AND embroidered peacocks? Could it be any better? I wore this skirt all summer and am loving that I can still get plenty of wear out of it during the winter months.

Did you guys get up to anything fun this weekend? How are you doing with your goals for the year so far?

Til next time!

-Becca

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Goals for a New Year

Hey guys! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season! It's been really nice having some much needed time to step back, relax, and reflect, but I'm glad to be getting back into the swing of things.

It's now 2014 (!!!) and I couldn't be happier about that. To be perfectly honest, 2013 was a really hard year that was full of anxiety, debilitating perfectionism, rocky friendships, and not being able to let go. While there were certainly great things that happened (starting this blog for example!), this last year has been overwhelmingly rough. I'm happy that it's now 2014, and with this new year, I'm trying to affect positive change and get things off to a good start.

Now, I'm not usually one for New Year's Resolutions- in the past I've found that I've set unrealistic goals that I know, even as I'm making them them, I won't be able to follow through on. So, this year, I'm all about setting attainable, continuing goals. A lot of these goals are things that have been in the works for a while, so what better time to set them into motion than in this brand new year!

1. Get my anxiety in check/work towards managing it.

It's gotten bad. Bad to the point that I've been breaking down (we're talking full-blown tears and occasional panic attacks) over things like chocolate on cookies not setting up properly or not knowing where I'll be able to put lovely Christmas gifts that I've received. Bad.

Earlier in the week, I paid a trip to my doctor about it and she got me set up with a set of natural remedies, so this goal is already in motion. So far I haven't seen a ton of difference, but hopefully I'll see some changes in the next few weeks!

2. Learn to let go.

Whether it be a struggle in my personal life, an unresolved situation that I have no power over, or a bout of perfectionism, I need to learn to let go. It's something I've been working on for a while, and admittedly, I don't really have a plan of action for this one, but it's a thought and an intention I'm going to try to keep at the back of my mind.

3. Speak up.

This is a goal that I've been practicing for quite some time, but it continues to be a struggle in some areas of my life. I'm prone to avoiding potential conflict since I'm a peace-loving creature, and while I've been working for years on speaking up more, I need to continue to improve. My feelings matter, my opinions matter, and it's ok to voice them. Preferably calmly and respectfully, but I know that won't happen 100% of the time- no one's perfect!

4. Eat better!

While I'm not actually after any sort of weight loss (ok, fine, it would be nice to lose the 5 pounds that showed up over the course of the holiday season), I'm hoping to make better choices for my meals and snacks. More whole grains, more veggies; less candy, less simple carbs. I'm all about everything in moderation, though, so don't worry- ya'll will still be seeing plenty of baked goods around here!

There's just the four goals, but I think they're good, important ones that will really help affect positive change in my life.

Did you guys make any goals for the new year?

XOXO

-Becca

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